^  OCi  2V)  1956  ' 

'u    .i'45  lobJ 

Temple";  Richard,  1826-1902 
A  layman's  estimate  of  Indi 
missions 


'A  'N  'asi'oj^s 
M3QNig   XaiHdWVd 


fc"*^'^'" '^% 


SIR  RICHARD  TEMPLE,  Bart, 


Missions  in  India. 


■  ■  ■         ( 

A  LAYMAN'S  ESTIMATE 


OF 


INDIA  MISSIONS. 


ADDRESS  of  SIR  RICHARD  TEMPLE,  Bart,  G.C.S.L.  D.C.L, 


BEFORE   THE 


Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the   Presbvteuian  Church  in  the 
United  States,  New  York,  November  yTii,   1SS2. 


NEW    YORK: 

Presbyterian  Mission  House,  23  Centre  Street. 
1SS3. 


A  LAYMAN'S  ESTIMATE  OF  INDIA  MISSIONS. 


[The  statements  presented  in  the  following-  address  of  Sir  Richard  Temple  are 
worthy  of  being  pondered  by  all  thoughtful  minds.  His  testimony  is  that  of  a 
statesman  accustomed  to  study  carefully  all  phases  of  social  life  ;  it  is  that  of  a 
calm  and  dispassionate  philosopher  who  has  no  other  interest  than  to  prove  all 
things  and  hold  fast  that  which  is  good.  Sir  Richard  has  been  in  India  not  less 
than  twenty-five  years,  and  in  his  successive  promotions  from  one  position  to  an- 
other in  the  India  Civil  Service,  he  has  held  office  in  nearly  every  province,  hav- 
ing been  Governor  both  of  the  Bombay  and  the  Bengal  Presidency. 

Stirred  by  the  gross  injustice  and  misrepresentation  which  the  haters  of  Chris- 
tianity have  put  upon  the  mission  work,  he  has  felt  called  upon  within  the  last 
lew  years  to  come  to  the  defence  of  the  truth.  He  has  repeatedly  spoken  on  the 
subject  in  Exeter  Hall  and  elsewhere,  and  while  in  New  York,  in  November  last, 
he  very  readily  consented  to  present  his  views  before  a  special  meeting  of  the 
I^resbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

An  imperfect  report  of  his  address,  made  at  the  time,  was  handed  to  him  for 
correction  just  as  he  w'as  embarking  for  Liverpool,  and  he  has  kindlv  returned 
the  following  as  his  own  authorized  statement  of  his  observations.] 

Sir  Rtch.^rd  Te:\iple  having  been  invited  to  meet  the  I'resbyterian 
Board  of  Missions  at  their  rooms  in  New  York,  November  7th,  1882,  the 
meeting  was  opened  with  prayer  by  the  President,  Rev.  W.  M.  Paxton, 
D.D.,  who  made  a  brief  address  of  welcome,  expressing  the  gratification  of 
the  Board,  and  of  friends  present  in  greeting  one  so  long  connected  with 
the  Government  of  India,  and  so  well  known  throughout  the  Christian 
world  for  his  interest  in  the  work  of  missions. 

The  distinguished  speaker  then  said  : 

"  I  take  pleasure  in  meeting  your  Missionary  Board  on  this  occasion,  and 
in  giving  my  testimony  to  the  value  of  Christian  missions  in  India. 


"  And  in  what  I  have  to  say  I  would  speak  of  Protestant  missions  in 
their  totality.  While  we  trust  that  the  Church  of  England  will  be  found  to 
have  taken  her  full  share  in  the  missionary  operations,  yet  we  fully  appreci- 
ate the  great  work  done  by  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  especially  by  the 
Free  Church  of  Scotland,  which  I  regard  as  having  done  as  much  in  pro- 
portion to  its  numbers  and  resources  for  the  cause  of  missions  in  India  as 
any  community  in  Christendom.  We  regard  with  gratitude  and  respect  the 
assistance  obtained  through  the  piety  and  generosity  of  the  several  Protes- 
tant churches  of  America.  Certainly  the  American  missions  of  all  denomi- 
nations in  India  are  working  thoroughly  well.  That  I  can  testify  having 
seen  them.  At  the  same  time  I  would  give  full  credit  to  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic missionaries  in  India  who  certainly  are  earnest  laborers,  and  have  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  heathen.  Whatever  they  may  be  in  Europe,  they 
show  their  best  side  when  laboring  as  missionaries  in  India.  I  would  not 
desire  to  disparage  them,  and  yet  even  Ihey  cannot  keep  pace  with  Protes- 
tant missions  so  far  as  the  result  can  be  gauged  by  statistics.  I  apply  my 
remarks  then  to  Protestant  missions  in  their  integrity,  their  totality,  in 
which  the  Presbyterian  Church,  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  has  borne  so 
prominent  a  share. 

ANSWER    TO    DISPARAGEMENTS. 

"  ist.  In  the  first  place  I  would  allude  to  the  disparaging  reports  often 
made  by  travellers  with  regard  to  the  missionary  work  in  India,  which 
reports  are  often  current  in  England,  and  have,  I  am  sorry  to  hear,  found 
their  way  to  America.  Some  gentlemen,  and  ladies,  too,  returning  from 
India  after  travelling  or  residing  in  the  country,  deride  the  results  of  mis- 
sions. Now,  statements  like  these  are  made  either  by  persons  who  never 
took  the  trouble  to  obtain  information,  perhaps  never  enjoyed  the  opportu- 
nity of  obtaining  it,  or  by  those  who  have  no  interest  in  religion  and  no 
care  for  religious  work.  You  well  understand  how  difficult  it  would  be  for 
a  person  passing  through  your  great  city  (New  ^'ork)  to  form  a  just  esti- 
mate of  its  various  institvitions  of  charity  and  public  beneficence.  How 
imperfect  is  the  knowledge  of  one  just  residing  only  for  a  time  in  city  or 
country  !  How  much  more  does  this  hold  good  of  the  observations  by 
European  travellers  or  temi:)orary  residents  in  a  country  so  vast  as  India. 
The  work  of  missions  does  not  strike  the  casual  observer.  You  have  to 
inquire  and  investigate,  not  only  at  the  great  centres,  but  in  the  interior  of 
the  country.     You  must  not  suppose  that  because  a  lady  or  gentleman  has 


5 

happened  to  reside  or  travel  in  India,  he  or  she  must  necessarily  know 
all  about  the  missionary  work  going  on  in  that  land. 

"  Those  who  undervalue  missions  will  belong  to  one  or  other  of  two  cate- 
gories, either  persons  who  do  not  care  for  religion,  or  persons  who,  while 
caring  for  religion,  are  not  experienced  in  the  interior  in  India.  On  the 
other  hand,  those  who  have  examined  the  work  are  those  who  give  a  favora- 
ble testimony.  The  favorable  witnesses  are  not  mere  casual  or  superficial 
observers,  but  men  of  the  highest  character,  statesmen,  civilians,  politicians 
and  soldiers,  men  on  whose  judgment  their  government  and  the  civilized 
world  depend  with  confidence  on  other  subjects,  and  whose  opinion  may  be 
safely  trusted  on  this  great  subject  of  missions. 

"  The  evidence  depends,  moreover,  not  on  mere  personal  statements  and 
impressions,  but  on  statistics  and  facts,  liable  to  be  checked  by  witnesses 
with  local  knowledge  and  subject  to  verification  in  many  collateral  respects 
by  official  men  who  are  not  likely  to  deceive  themselves. 

ACTUAL    SUCCESS. 

"  2d.  Objectors  are  fond  of  saying,  what  after  all  is  the  actual  success  of 
missions  ?  Have  they  done  anything  in  India  ?  The  answer  to  this  must 
come  from  well-verified  figures  and  facts.  No  blow  is  so  effective  as  one 
given  straight  from  the  shoulder,  and  no  argument  is  so  effective  on  this 
subject  as  that  drawn  from  the  official  documents.  I  have  not  my  papers 
and  figures  with  me  while  travelling  in  America,  but  I  could  give  you  an 
array  of  facts  of  which  all  Christendom  would  be  proud.  They  read  like 
the  statistics  of  some  great  governmental  undertaking,  but  they  really  con- 
stitute the  result  of  private  enterprise  undertaken  in  the  most  sacred  of 
causes.  The  fear  is  not  that  we  shall  be  discouraged  by  the  small  result 
already  attained,  but  that  the  result  is  becoming  so  great,  and  increasing 
with  such  rapid  growth  as  might  be  well  styled,  in  view  of  the  rapid  devel- 
opment of  your  great  country,  an  American  growth,  that  it  may  ere  long 
so  grow  on  your  hands  that  you  cannot  cope  with  it.  It  is  nosv  advancing 
fifty  per  cent  every  ten  years  during  the  generation  (thirty  years)  ending  with 
the  year  1880.  If  it  goes  on  at  that  rate,  during  the  present  generation 
there  will  be  by  the  year  19 10  about  2,000,000  of  native  Christians  on  your 
hands,  and  any  organization  you  can  make  with  European  agency  will  be 
inadequate  to  deal  with  them.  Your  only  hope  will  be  in  organizing  a 
native   church.      And  this  work  is    already  receiving   due  consideration. 


Natives  of  acknowledged  ability  and  piety  are  entering  the  Christian  min- 
istry, and  the  government  have  already  had  to  sanction,  in  conjunction 
with  the  English  missionary  societies,  three  additional  bishops  to  examine 
and  ordain  the  native  ministers  and  deacons.  There  are  now  in  India 
three  hundred  native  ministers  with  four  hundred  European  missionaries, 
and  we  hope  that  ere  long  the  natives  will  outnumber  the  foreign  mission- 
aries. 

"  But  for  a  long  time  to  come  the  prime  movers  in  these  operations  must 
continue  to  be  European.  And  we  hope  that  a  great  Christian,  and  if  we 
may  use  the  term,  ecclesiastical  army  will  be  raised,  the  rank  and  file  con- 
sisting of  natives  while  the  leaders  and  generals  are  highly  qualified 
Europeans. 

"  3d.  Again  we  ar.e  sometimes  asked  by  objectors,  Is  there  any  chance 
for  Ciiristianity  to  make  headway  against  these  antiquated  systems  of  false 
religion  ? 

THE    BATTLE    WITH    ANCIENT    SYSTEMS. 

"  (a)  In  the  first  place  with  regard  to  Buddhism,  that  religion  is  not 
extensively  prevalent  in  India,  but  it  is  met  with  in  the  mountainous  regions 
of  the  eastern  Himalayas,  and  however  excellent  and  attractive  the  poetic 
accounts  of  Buddhism,  as  given  in  the  well-known  poem,  'The  Light  of 
Asia,'  the  actual  Buddhism  of  India  is  as  degraded  and  degrading  as  can 
well  be  imagined.  It  is  liberal  toward  other  faiths,  but  when  you  have  said 
that  you  have  exhausted  the  catalogue  of  its  merits.  It  is  very  picturesque 
to  the  fancy  in  its  ceremonial  rites,  but  is  far  otherwise  in  doctrine  and 
discipline. 

"  (d)  Then,  as  to  Mohammedanism.  It  is  a  much  more  formidable  ad- 
versary, and  yet  converts  have  been  made  from  among  the  Mohammedans, 
and  these  converts  are  among  the  best  yet  made  in  India.  Mohammedan- 
ism presents  us  a  nut  which  is  hard  to  crack.  It  had  the  advantage  of 
Christianity  in  coming  after  it,  and  it  borrowed  many  of  its  teachings.  The 
Mohammedans  say  willingly  that  they  revere  "  the  Book"  as  they  style  the 
Bible.  They  have  the  idea  of  God,  of  one  God.  No  uninspired  book  has 
so  fully  formulated  the  attributes  of  Deity  as  the  Mohammedan  writings  in 
the  Arabic  language,  and  that  is  perhaps  the  most  elaborately  constructed 
language  ever  known. 

"  Vet  as  a  religion  Mohammedanism  establishes  a  narrow  exclusive  char- 
acter.    It  withers  human  character  as  with  a  blight,  warps  all  the  feelings 


and  sentiments,  crystallizes  everything  which  it  touches,  and  rivets  all  cus- 
toms and  opinions  in  a  groove.  Though  it  inculcates  the  duty  of  almsgiv- 
ing, it  is  in  several  respects  uncharitable.  It  is  utterly  intolerant.  Any- 
thing more  sanguinary  than  its  fanaticism  cannot  be  imagined. 

"  Benevolence  toward  those  who  differ  from  us,  love  to  our  neighbor, 
and  charity  in  the  Christian  sense  of  that  most  noble  term,  are  wholly  alien 
to  the  Mohammedan  religion.  I  know  the  Mohammedans  well,  from  long 
and  familiar  acquaintance,  and  their  peculiar  character  only  convinces  me 
the  more  of  the  necessity  of  giving  them  the  freedom  of  Christianity. 

"  (t)  Then  as  to  Hindooism.  The  Hindoos  number  one  hundred  and 
fifty  millions  of  souls,  about  two  thirds  of  the  population  of  India. 

"  Do  not  suppose  because  you  hear  and  read  of  the  pristine  purity  of  the 
early  Vedic  faith  that  this  is  the  Hindooism  of  the  nineteeeth  century. 
The  Hindoos  who  strive  in  our  day  to  purify  their  faith  are  thinking  them- 
selves  out  of  Hindooism.  Though  the  educated  classes  are  soaring  toward 
the  light,  yet  the  masses  of  the  people  to-day  are  as  devoted  to  a  corrupt 
religion  as  in  the  darkest  ages  of  the  East.  I  cannot  give  you  an  exact  idea 
of  the  vicious  orgies  which  occur  constantly  in  the  Hindoo  temples.  There 
is  a  considerable  amount  of  abominable  immorality,  which  is  practically  the 
outcome  of  the  religion  ;  though,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  many  domestic 
virtues  practised  by  the  people,  showing  how  much  of  goodness  would  be 
produced,  if  the  religion  were  purer, 

"  The  practical  instruction  given  by  Hindooism  to  the  young  is  grossly 
defective.  All  the  ideas  of  truth  and  honor  are  not  inculcated.  The 
parent  in  training  the  child  does  not  say.  Never  tell  an  untruth,  but  rather 
says,  in  effect.  Do  the  best  you  can,  in  the  circumstances,  thus  teaching 
expediency,  not  morality. 

"  When  contemplating  the  Hindoos  you  recall  the  absurdity  of  their 
superstitions,  and  the  immorality  of  many  among  their  practices,  you  will 
see  the  need  of  carrying  on  missionary  work  in  India, 

"I  have  heard  in  England  and  even  in  this  country,  that  many  think 
there  is  not  much  f/eeti  for  Christianity  in  India,  and  even  if  there  were  need, 
that  there  is  /lo  chance  for  its  success. 

"  There  is  the  need  as  seen  by  the  character  of  the  three  great  religions 
of  the  land,  and  that  there  is  a  chance  of  success  is  abundantly  proved  by 
statistics  of  the  work  already  done 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    MISSIONARIES. 

"  4tli.  Again  I  have  been  asked  what  is  really  the  character  of  your  mis- 
sionaries in  India.  I  have  heard  at  times  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  as 
well  as  here,  the  remark  that  the  missionaries  of  our  day  are  far  from  being 
of  the  apostolic  type,  that  they  only  go  to  earn  a  living  and  draw  salaries 
without  zeal  for  doing  good,  and  with  little  hope  of  accomplishing  anything. 

"  Now  all  these  insinuations  are  incorrect.  They  are  the  careless  and 
thoughtless  remarks  of  men  who  do  not  know  the  qualifications  and  idio- 
syncrasies of  the  missionaries  now  becoming  an  extensive  body  of  men.  I 
have,  during  my  life  in  India,  been  the  local  governor  of  105,000,000  of  peo- 
ple, in  different  provinces.  Thousands  of  Europeans  have  served  under 
me,  and  I  ought  to  know  something  of  the  value  and  the  character  of  men. 
I  have  also  been  acquainted  with  the  missionary  stations  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  country.  I  believe  that  a  more  talented,  zealous, 
and  able  body  of  men  than  the  missionaries  does  not  exist  in  India.  In  a 
country  abounding  in  talent  and  learning  they  fully  hold  their  own. 

"  But  it  is  said,  the  present  missionaries  are  not  equal  to  those  of  former 
years.  Now,  is  it  likely  that  the  present  and  future  missionaries  will  be 
less  able  than  the  past,  when  they  now  profit  by  all  the  experience  of  that 
past,  and  beside  have  professional  and  technical  instruction  to  give  them 
especial  preparation  for  their  work,  thus  possessing  advantages  which  their 
earliest  predecessors  never  enjoyed  ?  In  England  we  have  excellent  mis- 
sionary training  schools  at  Islington,  at  St.  Augustine,  under  the  very 
shadow  of  Canterbury  Cathedral,  and  at  other  places.  Of  course,  genius  is 
not  to  be  evoked  by  examinations,  and  whether  some  of  the  historic  origi- 
nators of  the  missionary  work  will,  as  individuals,  be  equalled,  we  cannot 
say.  But,  with  the  means  of  preparation  now  in  use,  I  can  promise  con- 
fidently that  the  average  missionary  in  the  future  will  be  equal  to  if  not 
better  than  the  past. 

"  I  have  seen  the  missionaries  in  every  province,  from  Cape  Comorin  to 
the  Himalayas,  and  I  know  their  high  character.  I  do  not  say  that  there 
are  no  failures  ;  but  the  percentage  of  failures  is  as  small  as  in  any  other 
departm.ent  of  the  public  service. 

"  5th.  Remember  that  you  want  two  kinds  of  missionaries.  In  the 
first  place,  you  need  practical  "  parish  priests,"  to  do  the  work  of  visit- 
ing  and    directing  several  thousands  of   simple-minded   people,   namely, 


native  Christian  peasants — missionaries  always  prompt,  thoughtful,  patient, 
able  to  despatch  details  rapidly,  and  yet  in  a  work  not  requiring  the  highest 
intellectual  exercise.  A  man  highly  qualified  intellectually  might  not  suc- 
ceed in  this  labor. 

"  Next  you  need  men  of  another  kind  thoroughly  versed  not  only  in  the 
religion,  but  also  in  the  literature,  philosophy,  and  poetry  of  India,  to  enter 
into  the  subtle  fallacies  and  twistings  of  Oriental  reasoning,  and  also  versed 
in  religious  dialectics  and  trained  in  Christian  theology. 

"  Just  as  in  an  army  there  must  be  men  of  all  arms,  cavalry,  infantry,  and 
artillery,  so  here  in  this  Christian  warfare,  we  need  men  of  varied  gifts  and 
culture. 

"  In  the  mother  land  there  are  the  Oxford  Mission  to  Calcutta  and  the 
Cambridge  Mission  to  Delhi,  which  are  organized  to  train  missionaries  of 
this  higher  kind.  These  efforts  are  specially  connected  with  the  two 
ancient  universities. 

CHAR.'VCTER    OF    THE    CONVERTS. 

"  6th.  Inquiry  is  naturally  made  regarding  the  character  of  native  con- 
verts. It  is  often  carelessly  said  that  they  are  no  better  after  than  before 
their  conversion.  These  taunts  may  have  come  from  some  lady  or  gentle- 
man who,  at  some  time  has  been  deceived  by  a  native  Christian  in  the 
capacity  of  a  domestic  servant  or  a  camp  follower.  But  the  native  converts 
in  India  must  not,  as  a  whole,  be  judged  by  the  casual  misconduct  of  indi- 
viduals. Those  who  attempt  to  apply  such  a  test  should  remember  that  the 
efficacy  of  Christianity  even  among  ourselves  would  be  discredited  by  the 
application  of  so  unreasonable  a  standard.  The  native  Christians  are  no 
longer  obscure  and  unknown,  scattered  here  and  there  like  '  Rari  nantes  in 
gurgite  vasto, '  but  they  are  numbered  by  tens  of  thousands  and  occupy  whole 
tracts  and  districts  of  country.  You  should  see  them  in  their  rural  homes, 
but  such  a  visitation  takes  time  and  trouble,  and  is  seldom  undertaken  by 
those  who  disparage  missions.  You  then  would  find  these  Christian  com- 
munities remarkably  well  conducted.  I  do  not  claim  for  them  any  unusual 
display  of  Christian  graces,  but  they  behave  as  well  on  the  average  as  Chris- 
tians in  any  land.  If  you  appeal  to  the  magistrates  in  India,  they  will  give 
the  native  Christians  everywhere  a  good  character.  These  Christians  are 
obedient  to  their  religious  guides,  attend  faithfully  the  ordinances  of  relig- 
ion, the  services  of  the  church,  the  Holy  Communion  and  Confirmation, 


10 

and  send   their  children  to  school,  during  the  week  and  to  the  Sunday- 
school  on  the  Sabbath. 

'■  It  would  be  well,  if  all  white  Christians  contributed  as  well  as  the  native 
Christians  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel,  and  their  religious  institutions. 
In  their  villages  you  see  the  rustic  chapels  and  the  little  schools  which  they 
have  reared  by  their  own  contributions. 

"  Again,  they  have  never  scandalized  their  Christianity  nor  put  their 
religion  to  open  shame.  We  must  admit  that  India,  like  other  countries, 
has  had  scandals  reflecting  unfavorably  on  Christianity.  But  unhappily 
these  scandals  which  have  been  brought  on  the  faith  have  been  chiefly  from 
white  men  calling  themselves  Christians.  We  do  not  hear  of  apostates 
among  the  native  Christians.  When  the  Sepoy  revolt  and  the  consequent 
war  spread  over  the  land,  and  many  were  tempted  to  apostatize,  were 
threatened,  and  exposed  to  danger,  yet  they  stood  firm  to  their  faith,  and 
there  was  no  noteworthy  instance  of  apostasy  whatever. 

"  7th.  You  sometimes  hear  that  the  Christians  in  India  have  become  so 
for  pecuniary  gain.  They  have  been  called  'rice  Christians,'  as  if  they 
became  Christians  to  be  fed  with  rice.  They  are  rice  Christians  no  doubt, 
but  in  a  different  sense  from  what  the  term  was  intended  to  convey. 
Truly,  they  are  rice  Christians,  because  they  work  industriously  and  produce 
the  finest  rice  crops  for  themselves  I  They  are  largely  of  the  peasant  class, 
])easant  proprietors  who  cultivate  the  land  they  own  and  hand  it  down  to 
their  children.  They  are  by  nature  attached  to  everything  ancestral  ;  and 
those  whose  families  have  been  Christian  for  more  than  one  generation, 
begin  to  feel  an  hereditary  attachment  to  Christianity.  Everything  heredi- 
tary is  by  them  steadfastly  cherished. 

"  I  have  often  heard  the  native  Christians  speak  affectionately  of  the  mis- 
sionaries who  first  instructed  their  fathers  in  the  Christian  faith, 

CONVERTS    FROM    ALL    CLASSES. 

"  Again  it  is  said  that  the  Christian  converts  are  only  the  humble- 
classes.  *  Show  us  one  of  the  higher  class  !  '  I  accept  that  challenge. 
Let  us  go  through  the  list  of  the  native  ministry  and  we  shall  find  that  most 
of  the  able  preachers  who  have  done  most  to  vindicate  Christianity  have 
been  of  the  high  caste. 

' '  Yet  we  should  remember  that  the  mass  of  the  people  belong  to  the 
humbler  castes,  and  the  majority  of  the  Christians  fnust  be  of  the  lower 


1 1 

caste  if  Christianity  be  diffused  as  it  ought  to  be  among  all  castes  equably. 
And  the  humblest  people  are  after  all  the  most  needy  and  most  appeal  to 
our  Christian  sympathies.  We  believe  that  their  souls  are  as  valuable  as 
ours,  and  we  should  gladly  labor  for  their  salvation. 

"  Then  there  is  a  body  of  men  in  India  who  belong  to  no  caste  at  all. 
They  are  regarded  by  all  others  as  out  of  caste.  They  are  the  aborigines 
and  the  Pariahs.  They  nuiTiber,  according  to  the  census,  twenty-three  mill- 
ions of  souls,  and  it  may  be  encouraging  to  recollect  that  while  in  a  large 
part  of  India  you  encounter  caste,  priestcraft,  and  bigoted  hostility,  yet 
among  these  you  have  a  clean  surface  on  which  to  write  ;  hearts  unsullied 
by  guile  and  superstition,  and  presenting  a  '  tabula  rasa  '  on  which  you  may 
inscribe  the  doctrines  of  eternal  truth.  Here  then  you  have  a  field  on 
which  may  be  won  an  encouraging  success. 

"Believing  in  the  inviolability  of  the  Divine  command  to  'preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature  '  you  would  doubtless  persevere  even  in  the  ab- 
sence of  present  success,  trusting  in  the  ultimate  fulfilment  of  the  Scriptural 
promises.  Yet  we  cannot  but  feel  our  energies  stimulated  if  we  see  success 
attending  our  labors.  Now  you  have  in  India  a  sure  success  before  you 
which  will  be  certainly  augmented  in  proportion  to  the  labors  put  forth  and 
to  the  resources  brought  into  play. 

THE    EFFECTS    OF    EDUCATION. 

"  8th.  It  will  occur  to  you  to  ask  what  effect  is  the  system  of  public  in- 
struction to  have  on  the  temper  and  disposition  of  the  Indian  people  ?  You 
will  be  told  it  is  producing  disloyalty,  discontent  and  irreligion,  taking 
away  from  the  people  the  religion  of  their  forefathers  and  giving  them  noth- 
ing in  return. 

"  As  to  loyalty  or  disloyalty,  England  will  do  her  duty  without  fear.  I 
believe  education  will  produce  loyalty.  But,  be  the  political  consequence 
what  it  may,  we  must  be  just  and  fear  not  and  give  India  the  education  in 
those  arts  and  sciences  which  have  made  England  herself  what  she  is. 
Even  if  a  certain  sort  of  disloyalty  were  to  be  the  consequence  we  must  per- 
severe, for  we  could  not  consent  to  keep  the  people  ignorant  in  order  to 
keep  them  loyal. 

"  As  regards  religion  the  government  has  to  be  very  careful  not  to  mix 
religion  with  the  state  education.  But  we  give  the  same  educational  grants 
of  State  aid  to  the  schools  of  all  communities  alike  and  the  missionaries 


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come  in  for  their  share,  the  pecuniary  assistance  being  given  on  the  well- 
known  system  of  '  payment  by  results.'  Thus  indirectly  the  missionaries 
obtain  a  modicum  of  public  aid  which  they  win  in  open  competition. 

Irreligion  migJit  be  the  consequence  of  the  secular  teaching  under  the 
State,  but  the  contrary  is  the  case.  The  highly  educated  Hindoos  almost 
invariably  break  away  from  their  heathen  religion.  I  do  not  say  this  is  true 
of  Mohammedans,  but  the  Hindoos  on  receiving  western  education  do, 
with  scarcely  any  exception,  cease  to  believe  in  the  ancestral  faith.  They 
do  not,  however,  become  atheists,  or  materialists.  They  rather  become 
theists,  believing  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  in  human  accountability 
to  a  Supreme  Judge  for  deeds  done  in  this  life. 

"  If  you  look  at  the  sermons  of  the  Hindoo  religious  reformers,  styling 
themselves  the  Brahmo  Somaj,  and  the  addresses  of  welcome  lately  given  by 
them  to  the  missionaries  of  the  Oxford  Mission  to  Calcutta,  you  can  judge 
whether  they  are  not  on  the  high  road  to  Christianity.  Then  if  you  can 
send  out  missionaries  intellectually  able  to  cope  with  these  men,  a  rich  har- 
vest may  be  reaped. 

THE    ELEVATION    OF    WOMEN, 

"I  must  now  say  a  few  words  regarding  female  education  ;  the  impor- 
tance of  this  is  acknowledged  by  the  British  Government  in  India.  We 
encourage  the  opening  of  female  schools  in  every  direction.  Formerly 
females  were  kept  in  degradation  and  seclusion,  yet  there  have  been  man- 
ifold instances  of  female  heroism  and  genius  in  Indian  history.  Even  to 
this  day,  widows  would  be  quite  ready  to  burn  themselves  on  the  funeral 
pyres  of  their  husbands,  were  they  not  prevented  by  the  strong  hand  of  the 
British  Government.  They  certainly  are  not  lacking  in  what  we  call  grit 
of  character.  Hence  we  may  infer  that  a  great  future  is  in  store  for  the 
women  of  India,  when  properly  educated.  Both  the  high  and  low  are  anx- 
ious to  go  to  school.  But  the  daughters  of  the  rich  and  noble  do  not 
attend  school,  as  they  cannot  break  the  bar  of  public  opinion  which  pre- 
vents girls  of  more  than  eleven  or  twelve  years  from  appearing  in  public. 
Hence  you  must  teach  them  in  their  homes,  in  the  Zenanas  or  female  apart- 
ments. For  this  reason,  European  ladies  of  special  training  are  becoming 
teachers  in  the  households  of  the  wealthy  and  the  great.  I  suggest  to  you 
that  American  gentlemen  cannot  do  better  than  advise  some  of  the  young 
ladies  now  being  educated  in  the  ladies'  colleges  and  the  normal  institutions 
of  the  United  States,  to  go  out  as  teachers  to  the  daughters  of  the  great 


13 

Indian  houses,  and  so  carry  western  enlightenment  into  recesses  heretofore 
secluded  from  the  light.  Female  education  is  already  advancing  in  India. 
I  know  hundreds  of  educated  natives  whose  grandmothers  could  not  read 
at  all,  whose  mothers  could  read  but  slightly,  and  whose  wives  can  read  and 
write  imperfectly.  But  their  daughters  are  being  brought  up  with  an  edu- 
cation conducted  upon  the  western  models. 

"  In  conclusion  then,  gentlemen,  the  result  thus  far  in  India  is  relatively 
inconsiderable,  though  absolutely  it  may  be  large.  But  the  smallness  of  its 
proportion  arises  from  the  vastness  of  the  country  and  the  immense  popula- 
tion, a  consideration  likely  to  be  fully  appreciated  by  Americans.  Still 
there  is  every  ground  for  encouragement.  A  shining  goal  invites  your 
Christian  efforts.  Such  efforts  are  not  indeed  put  forth  with  a  view  to 
political  effect.  Still,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  political  effect  of  the  Christian 
missions  in  India  is  excellent.  The  spectacle  of  private  enterprise  under- 
taken in  this  disinterested  manner,  does  not  render  the  natives  jealous,  but 
rather  edifies  them.  The  natives  are  but  too  apt  to  imagine  that  British 
policy  is  governed  by  political  ambition  or  national  aggrandizement.  Let 
them  see  in  our  missions  something  higher  and  nobler,  a  benevolence  disin- 
terested and  pure,  a  sunny  spot  with  no  shadows  or  earth-born  cloud  to  rest 
upon  it. 

"  The  result  of  missions  thus  far  is  nationally  and  politically  good.  We 
Englishmen  feel  our  responsibility.  We  thankfully  acknowledge  the  aid 
sent  from  the  religious  world  in  the  United  States  with  a  truly  disinterested 
liberality,  and  we  cordially  welcome  the  co-operation  of  our  American  kins- 
men in  this  noble  work." 


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